Brisbane Season for Chicago
It has been confirmed that the musical CHICAGO is to play a Brisbane season. Produced in Australia by John Frost and Suzanne Jones, this Australian production will premiere at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre in August before heading to Brisbane at QPAC’s Lyric Theatre in November and followed by a season at the State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne in December.
Starring as the irreverent and determined Roxie Hart is Natalie Bassingthwaighte and joining her as the empowered and glamorous Velma Kelly is Alinta Chidzey. Casey Donovan joins the duo as the tough and sassy prison warden Matron ‘Mama’ Morton.
QPAC Chief Executive John Kotzas said he was pleased to welcome John Frost and Suzanne Jones to present CHICAGO again.
“This show holds a very special place in QPAC’s history; it has been more than 10 years since our last presentation of CHICAGO, with that season opening our then newly refurbished Lyric Theatre in 2009,” Mr Kotzas said.
“Our audiences love great musical theatre, and they are certainly in for a treat with this all-new production and its stellar cast.”
The Kander & Ebb musical has been seen by over 31 million people worldwide in 36 countries and is the winner of six Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards and a Grammy Award. CHICAGO continues to play on Broadway and around the world in multiple languages and is the longest running American musical in Broadway and West End history.
Starring alongside them is Rodney Dobson playing Roxie’s charming and vulnerable husband Amos Hart and J. Furtado as gossip hound Mary Sunshine. The ensemble cast includes Amy Berrisford, Andrew Cook, Todd Dewberry, Samantha Dodemaide, Ben Gillespie, Chaska Halliday, Travis Khan, Hayley Martin, Kristina McNamara, Joe Meldrum, Tom New, Jessica Vellucci, Romina Villafranca, Rachael Ward, Zachary Webster and Mitchell Woodcock. Further cast will be announced soon.
Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, CHICAGO is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer Billy Flynn to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today's tabloids.
CHICAGO, which is based on the 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, has a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kanderand lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1996 Broadway revival of CHICAGO is choreographed by Tony Award winning Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosseand is directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie. CHICAGO features set design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by Tony Award winner Ken Billington, and sound design by Scott Lehrer.
WAITLIST NOW - CHICAGOTHEMUSICAL.COM.AU
Photographer: Peter Brew Bevan.